The myth:
The devas, the immortal demigods who live in the world above us once became very complacent and incurred the displeasure of a sage who cursed them to lose the immortality which was the root cause of their complacency. They began to weaken and scared out of their wits, prayed for deliverance. Vishnu reminded them of the nectar or Amurtha which was there in the paarkadal or the divine Ocean in which the lord rests. The devas knew that they could not find the nectar on their own as the ocean had to be churned. The sought the help of Mount Meru to churn the ocean. They also sought out Adhisesha, the divine serpent of the Lord to act as a rope that can be used with the mountain to churn the ocean. The Lord himself took the form of a tortoise, (Kurmam) and served as a solid foundation for the mountain to rest on.
The weak devas also sought out their mortal enemies the asuras for more man power to churn the ocean. The asuras agreed on the condition that they get a portion of the Amurtha that is churned out. The devas and the asuras set about the task of churning the ocean. The asuras were tricked into getting hold of the head of the snake, whose poisonous fumes made them lose their skin color and also weakened them. The devas used the tail. The churning of the ocean gave out a lot of interesting things ( ill deal with it in a separate post) which the devas and the asuras took turns claiming. There was a very potent poison that emerged and all of them dread it. Shiva ate it and Parvati caught his throat to prevent him from completely consuming it. That is why he is known as Neelkant - the man with the blue throat. Finally the Amurtha came out and there was an argument among the two groups as to who could have it first. The kurmam disappears from this scene on with the mountain and the snake as their task is over.
Narayana/Vishnu foresaw the destruction that could follow if the asuras all became immortal. So he took the form of a beautiful maiden - Mohini and bewitched the asuras and the devas alike with his beauty. Mohini volunteers to distribute the amurtha and the devas and the asuras agree. She seats the devas first and distributes it to them. Two asuras Rahu and Ketu realize that there is something off and take the form of devas and consume the amurtha. The nectar is over by the time it reaches the other asuras and a huge battle follows. The devas strengthened by the nectar are able to vanquish the asuras and regain their kingdom.
Rahu and Ketu's heads are severed from their bodies but they are still immortal and continue to exist. Their stories will follow soon in another post.
Mohini is followed around by Basmasura - a very powerful demon who has the power to turn anything he touches to ash. He is also a talented dancer and Mohini tells him she would be his if he can dance as well as her. The two dance around and she finally touches her head with her hand. Basmasura is reduced to ashes the moment he touches his head and after vanquishing a strong asura, Mohini disappears.
The philosophy :
In a way, I dislike this story as the devas are so cunning and cheat the asuras after letting them labor for days on end. On the other hand, I love the way the mountain, snake and the tortoise play such an integral role in helping the two groups complete an arduous task. The philosophy for me is that with the lords help and with the right resources, even the oceans can be churned to get what we need.
Also, when our enemies reach out to us for help, we ought to be careful and understand their ulterior motives even if they are supposed to be wonderful in their own ways.
The bewitching beauty of a woman is not without its dangers and no matter how powerful you are, you can be vanquished with wit like Mohini does Basmasura. A man, strong enough to reduce anybody to ashes loses it all when he lusts.
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